WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team needed two quarters to get its offense ramped up. Unfortunately, the first-half hole the Cardinals found themselves in was just too deep to climb out of.
 
After managing just 12 points over the first two quarters, the Cardinals erupted for 21 points in the third quarter — only to have their second-half rally run out of time, as Augsburg hung on to deal SMU a 50-44 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback Monday evening at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Cardinals struggled to find their rhythm through the game's opening half — hitting just 4 of 27 field goals, but still headed into the locker room at the break down by just nine.
 
Augsburg opened the game with nine unanswered points and held SMU without a basket until the 1:23 mark, when Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.) got the Cardinals on the board with a layup, followed by a 3-point rainmaker by Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) before the quarter ended to pull the Cardinals within four, 9-5.
 
Cruze knocked down one of two free throws to open the second quarter, only to have the Auggies rattle off six straight points to regain a nine-point, 15-6 advantage. SMU clawed within five, 17-12, but Augsburg closed the half on a 4-0 run to take a nine-point, 21-12 cushion into the locker room at the break.
 
Saint Mary's certainly carried the hot hand out of the halftime intermission, scoring 10 unanswered points to whittle Augsburg's lead to one, 23-22 just three minutes into the third quarter. That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would get, as Augsburg closed the period on a 16-11 run and led by four, 37-33 with one quarter remaining.
 
Augsburg scored 10 of the first 15 points of the fourth quarter to push its lead back to nine, 47-38, but the Cardinals refused to throw in the towel, getting three straight free throws from Paulson with 11.3 seconds remaining in regulation to close the gap to four, 48-44.
 
That, however, would be as close as Saint Mary's would get, and the Auggies' Jaley Coplin hit a pair of free throws in the waning seconds to secure the six-point victory.
 
Paulson finished with 15 points — including a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line — to lead the way for Saint Mary's. The SMU senior has now knocked down 15 consecutive free throws over the last two games, having gone 10-for-10 against St. Scholastica last Saturday. Cruze and Ashley Streveler (Colby, Wis.) each chipped in eight points for SMU, which finished 15-for-56 from the field (26.8 %) with five 3-pointers, and was 9 of 12 from the line.
 
The Cardinals (3-8 MIAC, 4-10 overall) are right back on their home court on Wednesday, as they welcome Macalester to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. conference matchup.
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